AMERICAN CROSSBILL. 



COMMON CROSSBILL. RED CROSSBILL. 

 LOXIA CURVIROSTRA MINOR. 



Char. Bill long and compressed, mandibles curved at the points, 

 which cross or overlap. In young birds the bill is straight. Adult males : 

 dull red, variable in shade ; wings and tail blackish brown. Young males : 

 yellowish olive. In changing plumage they display great variety of com- 

 binations of yellow, olive, and red. Females : above, dull olive ; rump 

 and crown yellow ; wings and tail as male ; below, grayish. Length 5>^ 

 to 6 inches. 



Nest. Usually in a dense wood, on a branch of an evergreen tree 15 

 to 30 feet from the ground ; made of twigs, strips of bark, weed-stems, 

 and roots, lined thickly with grass, roots, hair, and feathers. 



Eggs. 3-4 ; pale green dotted, near larger end, with brown and laven- 

 der; 0.75 X 0.57. 



This more common species, like the preceding, inhabits the 

 high northern and arctic regions of both continents, where it 

 breeds, and is met with from Greenland to Pennsylvania, or 

 farther south, according to the season and the success in 

 obtaining food when driven to make a southern descent or 

 migration. From September to April these birds are found 

 inhabiting the extensive pine forests in the mountainous and 

 interior districts of Pennsylvania and other States to the north ; 

 they also extend their winter migrations into the lower parts of 

 the State of Missouri. They have occasionally been seen in 

 the maritime parts of Massachusetts, but are less common 



